Traditions: The 12th Man and Rammer Jammer

Two storied traditions from Alabama and Texas A&M could be a part of Saturday's big-game pageantry.

Two of college football's most colorful traditions could be on display Saturday when defending national champion and top-ranked Alabama visits No. 6 Texas A&M in a showdown of Southeastern Conference powers.

The Aggies' 12th Man fan base will no doubt be in full effect for arguably the most anticipated home game in Texas A&M history. It's a game televised nationally by CBS and livestreamed here on CBSSports.com, starting at 3 p.m. ET with an expanded pregame show.

Texas A&M's 12th Man tradition has been there through thick and thin since 1922. And few schools have more tradition than Alabama, although you might only witness or hear one of the Crimson Tide's favorites if NicK Saban and Co. escape with a victory.

"Rammer Jammer," echoes through stadiums -- home or away -- when Alabama fans celebrate another victory. It's a tradition that dates only to 1980, when Alabama's Million Dollar Band came up with this part chant/part song postgame celebration to counter Ole Miss' "Hotty Toddy" cheer.

Traditions such as these are part of the pageantry and lore that separates college football from other sports.

All season long, CBSSports.com will spotlight some of these rituals. Whether it's getting behind the wheel of Georgia Tech's Rambin' Wreck or getting the story behind Michigan's winged helmets or exploring how a 1972 rock song became the inspiration for a stadium anthem in the Heart of Dixie, we'll tell you where they came from and why they have come to be part of the football programs they represent.

Today it's "Rammer Jammer." Saturday, it'll be up to the 12th Man at Texas A&M to make sure this cheer is not heard at Kyle Field.